Apella Capital LLC Acquires 46 Shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Apella Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 838 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $304,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Caterpillar by 39,534.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,136,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,356,930,000 after purchasing an additional 2,131,276 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd increased its stake in Caterpillar by 3,319.7% during the 2nd quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 275,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $91,606,000 after acquiring an additional 266,969 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 4,018.6% in the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 255,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $99,874,000 after buying an additional 249,155 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,952,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,501,554,000 after buying an additional 205,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its stake in shares of Caterpillar by 34.4% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 782,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $305,908,000 after purchasing an additional 200,210 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Caterpillar

In related news, insider Cheryl H. Johnson sold 2,664 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.84, for a total value of $1,009,229.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,951 shares in the company, valued at $4,906,356.84. This trade represents a 17.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This represents a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,868 shares of company stock worth $9,679,489. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Price Performance

NYSE CAT opened at $374.81 on Thursday. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $276.94 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.38, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $380.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $366.26.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). Caterpillar had a net margin of 16.26% and a return on equity of 59.09%. The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Caterpillar Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 26.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CAT. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Caterpillar from $454.00 to $471.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com lowered Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Caterpillar from $455.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Caterpillar has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $381.67.

Caterpillar Company Profile

Caterpillar Inc manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives in worldwide. Its Construction Industries segment offers asphalt pavers, compactors, road reclaimers, forestry machines, cold planers, material handlers, track-type tractors, excavators, telehandlers, motor graders, and pipelayers; compact track, wheel, track-type, backhoe, and skid steer loaders; and related parts and tools.